Former Haitian President Jailed on Conspiracy ChargesFormer Haitian president General Prosper Avril was taken to the National Penitentiary, the main jail in Haiti, on Tuesday after his arrest last Saturday on charges of conspiracy, reports from the Haitian capital of Port-au- Prince said.Avril was taken to prison after Attorney General Josue Pierre- Louis declared the beginning of a judicial process against the former president, who is currently in the political opposition of Haiti. Avril, who served as president between September 1988 and March 1990, was accused of being responsible for torturing two Haitian citizens during his presidency after they were arrested for " political reasons." The two demanded 10 million U.S. dollars in compensation. In 1996, former president Rene Preval issued an arrest warrant on Avril for "conspiracy against state security." Evans Paul, leader of the opposition and one of the victims of repression in November 1989 by Avril, told the local press that he would not join the process against Avril calling for "national reconciliation" rather than "revenge." However, Marion Etienne and Frantz Patrick Beauchard, two of the victims of the repression, said they would take the case to court. Avril has lived in semi-clandestineness over the past years. He made his first public re-appearance in late April at a meeting organized by the opposition against current President Jean- Bertrand Aristide. |
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